The Scrapbook
by Gate-Traveller16
Summary: AU. When Melinda May left, Agent Coulson decided to pack her bags. That was, until he came across a scrapbook of hers. The team quickly joined the fun, learning things about May they never knew before. Drabbles after first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**The Scrapbook**

**Rating: Varies from K to T**

**Spoilers: It would be best if you watched the whole season.**

**A/N: Most of these won't be that long, so I can most likely guarantee quick updates. I hope you enjoy and give me your thoughts on this. Also, this is an AU where Ward wasn't part of Hydra.**

**Summary: AU. When Melinda May left, Agent Coulson decided to pack her bags. That was, until he came across a scrapbook of hers. The team quickly joined the fun, learning things about May they never knew before. Drabbles.**

* * *

Agent Phil Coulson didn't understand why May left. Yes, he was mad at her, but for her to leave? That was a different story.

The team made a compromise, even with everyone feeling sad about it, but to box her stuff, and sent it to wherever she was now living. The team didn't even think about their plan too much, leaving out all the cost, locations, and boxes for later.

Phil and his team went to May's cherished room. It wasn't that big, since she was the pilot and needed to steer the plane most days. There were some books and magazines in the room along with a deck of worn-out cards.

Ward and Phil were the ones gathering what she had, and piling them on the bed. "I wished she would have stayed," Ward said. Everyone did, but there was a different connection between her and Ward. One that Coulson wasn't thrilled of.

"We all do Ward. But the world needs us out there right now," the leader explained.

Ward nodded. "I know." Grant moved a pile of magazines from her bedside table to the bed. Coulson got on his hands and knees, and looked underneath the bed.

"That's strange," said Phil as he grabbed on to an object from underneath the bed. "What exactly is this." He cut himself off when he saw the giant book that said "Melinda Q May" on it. He got off the ground before opening the book, and sat on the bed beside the pile. He opened the book and there was pictures. Lots of them. The first picture started off when May was first-born. The cute little baby with hair was asleep in her mother's arms.

Coulson scanned the pages quickly, not giving much thought on the pictures until he reached the end where he noticed there was one team picture of them. The book wasn't close to being full. Her journey has only begun. "What is it?"

"It looks like a scrapbook." And that was exactly what it was.

"Can we look through it? May never has to know."

Phil hesitated. "She'll know if we send it to her."

"Send what to her?" Skye said as she entered the small room. It was already tight with two, but three was pushing the capacity.

"A scrapbook," Grant answered. Skye giggled as she went to see the scrapbook that Coulson was holding. The book was flipped on the last page.

"It's no fun to start at the back where we know everything," she said as she stole the book from Coulson. "Besides, I'm sure Fitz and Simmons would like to join our finding." Skye ran out the door with the book.

"Skye," Phil said. He could already hear her calling Fitz and Simmons to the couch. She heard something about story time. He knew this was invading May's privacy, but she left. If she really wanted it, she would have taken the book.

Phil sighed in defeat as he headed out of the cramped room and toward the couch in the centre of the room. Skye was already sitting in the middle with the book in her hands. She looked up and saw Coulson. "You probably want to take a seat before they're both stolen," Skye said. Coulson, who agreed with Skye, walked quickly to the couch and sat to the left of Skye.

Fitz and Simmons rushed behind them, and noticed the thick book. "It's May's?" Fitz said in his Scotish accent.

Skye nodded. "Yep." She popped the p. Ward walked out of the room, and noticed everyone gathered around the book. There was still one empty seat left. He made eye contact with the pair that we standing up behind the couch. Ward was pretty sure they could see what he wanted in his eyes, making a dash towards the other seat beside Skye. Grant somehow managed to get there before the pair, probably because of the pulling and pushing.

"Okay, now that everyone has had their energy released. Is everyone ready?" she asked. They all nodded in unison.

"Great," Skye said. "Now let's start at the beginning of May's life."

* * *

**As I said, the chapters are going to be short, aiming at a thousand or so words per chapter (this wasn't at that goal, but there wasn't that much I could have added to it without starting at one of the pictures). I hope you review, and enjoy.**


	2. Drooly Baby

**Chapter 2**

**A Drooly Baby**

* * *

Melinda May was a cute little baby. She had dark hair on her little head, and always liked to sleep. Her mother was holding the small thing that weighed only 6 pounds. When she was first introduced into the world, she was screaming. The mother knew that her screams was the baby's first breath. After that, she was quiet.

The team looked at the first picture. "This is Melinda May beginning introduce into this world," Skye read to the group. Coulson smiled while looking at baby May. He was sure that if she came back, she would do something back to him.

The next picture was Melinda sleeping on a couch beside her mother. There was a bit of drool coming out of her mouth and landed on the couch. "Look!" Skye exclaimed. "Baby drool!" She pointed beside the baby where the drool landed.

"Melinda was a drooly baby?" Ward asked.

"I guess so," Simmons said. They looked at the picture again. The mother looked like she was watching TV. Melinda must have fell asleep before or during the show.

Skye turned the page again. This time, Melinda was on the ground playing with some blocks. The blocks were stacked three levels high. They looked like they were falling. There was still some drool coming out of her opened mouth, cheering about the most likely fallen blocks.

"She's so cute!" Skye stated.

"Who knew May was such a cutie pie?" Simmons asked.

Coulson shook his head. "I'm sure no one knew. I didn't even know she had this book."

"Until we recovered it," Grant said. The team looked at another picture on the page.

Melinda was sitting down watching a show. The show looked like Prince Planet. The baby moving their hands up and down in excitement. "Who knew she was ever this excited for something?" Ward asked.

"She seemed happier and friendlier when I first met her," Coulson said. "Not as much anymore." He shook his head as he reflected on something. The team changed their attention to him for a moment before going back to the book.

The next picture was of a relative holding baby Melinda who was sleeping so peacefully. The baby's face looked filled with innocence and beauty. She didn't even know the real world. Most babies didn't like Melinda.

"This says that Hanshiro May is holding her. Do you think that's her father?" asked Skye.

Coulson shrugged. "I honestly don't know." Everyone looked at Coulson and nodded.

The last picture on the page was of Melinda on the floor of where she was. This time though, she was crawling. The little baby was smiling as she crawled to something, most likely her mother. "I just can't believe she brought something like this," Simmons said. "I mean, this is priceless. What would happen if she lost the book?" Ward shifted his body on the body.

Skye noticed the awkwardness of him and said, "I think we need a break before we continue to read and look at the rest of this book. Do we all agree?" They all nodded. "Good. I don't know about you, but I am going to get a snack." She placed the book on Coulson's lap, and ran. Fitz and Simmons followed her.

"You'll probably stay here right?" Ward asked.

Coulson looked at him and nodded. "Ya." Ward shrugged before getting up and heading into the same direction as the rest of his team did. Coulson grabbed the book and flipped to a random page. On that page, there was a man with brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore glasses, and at the time, a suit. Coulson only guessed that was her first and only husband until he read the caption: Harris Flan and Melinda May. November 14, 1995. He noticed the beautiful, white dress Melinda May was wearing. There was a white flower belt by the dress that gave its own original design.

Coulson admired Melinda's young beauty with a picture of her smiling her white teeth to the camera. He could picture the moment in his head as if he was there watching it. He never was there though, but everyone could be imagined.

The leader turned back to the first page of Melinda being held in her mother's arm after coming to this world. "You've grown up a lot," he said to the scrapbook like it was a living being, or a human. "I wish though that you didn't leave. That could be my fault though, and I'm sorry about it. If I knew about everything, and if you would tell me what you were going through instead of flipping through these pages." He looked at the marks at the corners of the book that have curled and been crinkled. "Then I would have listened, and apologize. I know you wouldn't have want to hear me say that, but I would."

Phil flipped to the next page with the baby playing with the blocks. "You were such a drooly baby." Within the next five minutes, everyone has returned to their spots.

"Okay," Skye said as she took the book from Phil. "Who's ready to look at the next pages?"

* * *

**Just a nice chapter with a bit of Coulson reflecting on things. I hope you will tell me what you think and what should be in this book next!**


	3. A Natural Musician

**Chapter 3**

**A Natural Musician**

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, and follows. It has made me so happy. I hope you continue to enjoy!**

* * *

Skye flipped to the next page. On this page was a moment that would change Melinda's life. The baby learned to walk. She was holding onto the wall. There was a person who was sitting beside the standing baby. "Look, she learned how to walk," Skye said. "I don't know about these time stamps, but it seems like she learned very quickly. The previous picture was of her crawling, wasn't it?" Skye turned the page back and looked at the picture with her crawling. She turned back to the page with her walking. "Yep, she was crawling the previous picture."

"Maybe these are just key moments in her life along with a few cute pictures," Fitz said.

Skye shrugged. "Maybe." Skye looked at the next one. This one was of her holding a maraca in her hands as she was running somewhere. The ground she was walking on was a carpet flooring instead of the wooden flooring she was on before. She either moved from her house, or she was in a different room.

"A natural musician, isn't she with her maraca?" Ward said. Everyone laughed at his comment.

"It appears to be," Coulson said. The next picture was of her standing up with her maraca in her hands watching a TV show. She looked to be jumping up and down as she watched it. She was now on the wooden floor again that was the same as the first few pictures.

"I think this was her toddler toy; the maraca I mean," Simmons said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I just can't believe she doesn't have a pacifier!" Skye commented. "Was she that quiet when she was a toddler too?"

Coulson shrugged. "Apparently." The picture on the right side was of her walking around outside in a zoo. There looked to be long giraffe legs in the background, along with a few zebras.

"I wouldn't know what to think of May in a zoo," Skye commented. The next page was of Melinda petting a goat in a petting zoo. She had a very emotionless face on. She was either not impressed or not wanting to share her emotions to the world.

Skye flipped the page. There was a picture of Melinda eating a bowl of noodles that were covered in tomato sauce. She threw the bowl in her face, and it covered her in tomato sauce. The baby was giggling about it. "Oh. My. God. This is the cutest picture I have ever seen!" Skye screamed as she took out her phone and took a picture of the picture.

"You're going to seriously take a picture of a picture?" Fitz asked in his Scottish accent.

Skye shrugged. "It's so cute though! Wouldn't you?" Skye put her phone away. "Okay, next one." The next picture was of Melinda holding her maraca and a cookie in the other. There was crumbs going on the ground as she was shaking her maraca.

"Man, I would really get annoyed if I had someone shaking a maraca constantly," Skye said. "Just imagine. Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake-"

"Stop it!" Coulson interrupted her. Everyone laughed at him. "It is really annoying. We get it. Let's move on." On the next page, there was a picture of Melinda in a kiddie pool. She was sitting down, and was playing with a rudder ducky. There was some other toys in the pool such as a boat and floating block in the pool.

"Back to the blocks again." Skye shook her head. "I swear, I thought there would be a floating maraca."

"I don't think her parents would get her a floating maraca," Grant said. "It would annoy them to death."

The final picture on this page was of her at a beach. The background was of a beautiful sunny day with the water as calm as a sleeping baby. Melinda was at the water's edge with her feet in. There was a man who looked like Hanshiro May—the man who was in the picture holding baby May, in the background chasing after Melinda. There was footprints behind both of them. "I think this picture should be framed, don't you think?" Skye asked.

"It would most certainly look beautiful," Simmons said. Pictures spoke a thousand words. Everyone knew these did, but they didn't know the whole story behind them. They only knew that Melinda was there in all these pictures. There wasn't much they could tell about them. Other than the background, they don't even know where these pictures were taken. They could only assume where these were taken.

Skye flipped to the next picture, wondering what would be shown in the next picture.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this. I probably will do pictures based on age groups. I don't know exactly what ages, but I'm sure all the ones until we hit the age she is. You may tell me your thoughts of this.**


	4. That 70s Fashion

**Chapter 4**

**That 70s Fashion**

**A/N: I don't know how long this will be, but I am hoping it will be enough to satisfy everyone. I thank everyone for reviews/favourites/follows. Enjoy!**

* * *

The pages were thick filled with memories that would never be forgotten—especially by the team. Some of them were thinking about how beautiful Melinda was as a child and others were missing her as they read the filled pages without her.

The pictures before reminded the team on why they needed to do their job; they needed to protect the children and innocence of the world. So many people never experience what the team experience, along with what Melinda May experience. After that one mission in Bahrain, it removed most of May's innocence from the world.

In the next picture, there was Melinda standing outside, what appeared to be her house, with a backpack on. "First day of school," Skye read the caption as they looked at the small girl. She was wearing a navy blue mini skirt and a baby blue t-shirt. Her black, long boots made the outfit stand out to the team. The girl was smiling as she had one hand on one of the straps to her backpack.

"That 70s fashion," Coulson said, knowing that many of them never lived or born in the 70s. The team looked at him. "Mini skirts, pastel colour, long boots?" The rest of the team looked at each other, confused on what Coulson was talking about.

"Okay," Coulson said. "Fine. Let's move on." The next picture was of May, in a very similar outfit to the one for the first day of school, beside a younger girl with long black hair. The girl was not as tall as Melinda was, and looked like she was from the same descent as Melinda.

The background was of a small green grass field, and the sky blue as it would ever be. There were no clouds in the sky, and the amount of houses in the background were limited. "Melinda May and Sun Lin," Skye said, reading the next caption. The team didn't mind Skye reading the caption out-loud, even though they could all read the page perfectly, but some were harder for others.

"I can imagine these two girls as best friends," Simmons said. "They seem perfect for each other. I think Sun Lin was a sociable person, and judging from our baby and toddler pictures, our friend Melinda May wasn't." Everyone else could say the same about May. Though she was a well-known agent in S.H.I.E.L.D, she was always reserved, and wouldn't tell anyone about basically anything. The team was almost certain no one knew of the book, since their leader never heard of it until this day.

Everyone moved on from that picture to the next. There was Melinda with her friend Sun Lin, which they appeared to be at Melinda's house. They looked to be building something with some wooden blocks, different from the ones she used as a baby. The girls seem so focused in their task, not even realizing that someone was taking a photo of them.

"I just can't believe the fashion," Coulson commented again. Melinda was wearing a yellow t-shirt that looked skin-tight and a brown mini skirt with some socks. Her friend was wearing a pink t-shirt with a black skirt.

"I didn't know the clothing was so revealing in the 70s," Ward said.

"Ward!" the team yelled at him simultaneously. Skye used her right hand, and punched him in the arm. The team laughed at Skye's actions.

"Not cool," Ward said as he rubbed his 'sore' arm. Coulson shook his head, and looked back at the book. The next picture was of May at a table. In front of her was a cake with four candles on top. The icing on the cake read _Happy Birthday Melinda_ in red icing. The cake was iced with white icing, and was rectangular shaped. The table had some people who looked Melinda's age, including Sun Lin. They were all wearing party hats that had _Happy Birthday_ on them like the cake.

"May's birthday," Skye said. "I hoped her birthday to be in May, but I guess sometime between the summer and winter is fine."

"Like on Star Wars day?" Fitz asked.

"That would be the best birthday ever!" Simmons cheered. The pair laughed at each other, with Coulson and Skye confused with the reference. Grant shrugged, and continued to look at the page.

"Guys," Skye said. "Calm down. Do we need another break again? We just had one, like, half an hour ago." The pair looked at Ward, Coulson, and Skye.

"Sorry," they said simultaneously. The rest of the team shrugged before Skye flipping the page. This picture wasn't focus on Melinda. The background had multiple lanterns lit around the dark streets the townspeople were in. There was a giant dragon that was the main focus of the shot. Melinda was on someone's shoulders, which blocked the dragon a bit, along with the other people who filled the streets of people.

"Happy Chinese New Years everyone!" Skye said. Everyone smiled.

"Why didn't we celebrate this? Especially for May?" Ward asked.

"Too much time saving the world," Coulson answered. The team nodded. No one had time to do anything. There was no birthday celebration, holidays off, or even much vacation time. It was just work. It would always be hard being in a relationship with someone working with S.H.I.E.L.D. Maybe, if the team had all those options, Melinda might have stayed.

* * *

**I hoped you like it, and you can judge away.**


	5. Unrealistic

**Chapter 5**

**Unrealistic**

* * *

Everyone has stopped reading the book, and was reflecting on things: actions that were shown, words that have been spoken. Everyone was wishing the world away with their thoughts. Hope was still there, just, not at the moment.

One of their key players, people, whatever she was to each person, left their group. Forever. They could only remember her by the pictures in the scrapbook. Coulson thought about choosing the top five, and getting a big copy to frame them. It would be a good way to remember her since her birth, even though no one knew her then, and some weren't even born.

Everyone was still in their reflecting state until Skye said, "Look." The team left their thoughts, and looked at the next picture. This picture had Melinda working on something, like a picture. Parts of the picture were blocked by Melinda's arm, but the team could still tell what it was. The picture Melinda drew was of a young girl holding hands with her mother. The hands were big, and there wasn't enough fingers on each hand, but what was there to be blamed with a little kid's drawing?

Behind the pair, there was a man, who was standing beside something that looked like a plane. He had glasses on, and some scribbled black hair. The words said _Plees com hom daty_, but the team knew she was trying to spell _Please come home daddy_.

The emotion on May's face looked so sad, like she wanted to cry. "Why would someone want to take a photo of this?" Simmons said. No one knew why, or what was Melinda feeling at that moment.

Skye closed her eyes. The team realized that it would be the hardest for Skye, since she could relate to this image the most. "You okay, Skye?" Ward asked.

Skye nodded, not looking at any member of the team. "I'm fine. I just..." She handed the book to Coulson, and left the couch. She was out of sight for anyone to see.

"I'll go talk to her," Ward said as he left to find where Skye went.

"We think," Simmons said as she pointed to both Fitz and herself. "That we should go also." The pair left the room.

As soon as they were gone, Coulson sighed and flipped through the pages. It seemed hard for May, judging from the picture, but for Skye, it was double, triple; Coulson didn't even know how many times harder it was.

He continued to flip through the pages, until suddenly, something fell out of the scrapbook, and onto his lap. Coulson looked at the picture first, curious on why there would be a piece of paper on this specific page. The picture was of Melinda holding a child, a similar type of picture from the first page. This baby has brown hair, and was wrapped in pink sheets. She was fast asleep and Melinda looked like she was about to fall asleep too.

"I didn't know May had a child," Coulson said to himself. He decided to grab the letter, piece of paper, off his lap, and unfolded it. It was a letter in cursive. The letter read:

_Dear whoever finds this,_

_You have probably found this letter since you have found this scrapbook that I left behind. You may think that I did this accidentally, but I did not. I did it for you guys. I thought that maybe you wanted something to remind you of me, and I thought this would be perfect._

_Since the beginning, my mother has take pictures of my life, and has collected them. I asked her for a few with key points in my life, and I got them. In my free time, I made a scrapbook out of them. You guys probably didn't know this about me._

_Anyways, the point of this note is to apologize to Skye. I should have said something to her sooner, like when I first saw her. Now, it feels too late. I don't know if she'll forgive me or not, but she deserves to know. And so does Coulson._

_I think I should have called or just said something to you, or Coulson, depending who is reading this. What we did back then, was, foolish I guess. We didn't know any better. Now though, I think you and I have that spark like we used to, and we aren't foolish and young. I did everything for you. Orders were just standing in my way. I know I feel bad, in some sort of way, but it's not too late._

_All you do is to give me a sign you want me back. Maybe this book will change your mind. Just maybe, I can see everyone again, but more you, Coulson._

_My life has been hard, and hard for many people, but you all deserve to know this truth. It's cold, it's unrealistic, but it's real, for whatever that's worth. I hope you will say something soon._

_-May_

Coulson's body shook. This can't be what I think it is, he thought. It's... Even his thoughts couldn't finish what he wanted to think. He placed the note down shakily, and looked at the picture of the young girl on her lap. She looked innocent, the same way Melinda did when she was a baby.

What Melinda's father did, or had to do, was the same situation, just played by a different person. Coulson looked at the caption below. This is Melinda holding her child, Skye.

* * *

**Sorry for a bit more of a dramatic chapter. It will get back to more of a humour in two or three chapters. This twist (which probably was suspected) was because of demand. I hope the rest of you like it, and comment your thoughts.**


	6. Resolution

**Chapter 6**

**Resolution**

**A/N: I have received a comment about why Melinda May left. If anyone else doesn't recall/a spoiler if you haven't seen the last few episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D on what happened in the series, Agent May left the secret base because Coulson couldn't trust her anymore. As of where the rest of the team is, they are on the plane. This may have confused people, but this is the part that is AU when she didn't come back once they went on the plane. If I messed something up explaining this, I am sorry, since I haven't watched the series in a while. I should do a review.**

**Anyways, enjoy. I hope I explained it well enough. And for people who don't ship Philinda, it's not really going to be mentioned in this story, but the part about Skye as their kid.**

* * *

"Skye is..." he said, not able to form words from his mouth. He read the caption multiple times in his head before he could process it. The caption read: This is Melinda holding her child Skye.

Coulson grabbed the letter again. He reread the part about him, and how she said about him being... Nothing was making sense in his mind. He never remembered seeing her pregnant in any way, but maybe she was. Was it when she decided to leave as a field agent? Was it because of Skye?

Ward, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons came back. "Coulson," Skye said. "Are you okay?" The rest of the team looked at their boss who looked like he was falling apart.

"Can I talk to Skye for a minute? Alone?" Ward, Fitz, and Simmons looked at each other before leaving the room. Skye slowly walked to the couch that Coulson was sitting.

"Ya, what's up?" she asked. Coulson closed the scrapbook, and held the letter in his hands.

"While you were gone," Coulson said. "I was going through the scrapbook and noticed that something fell out of a page I was looking at."

"You aren't suppose to read ahead," Skye complained.

The leader ignored her. "Anyways, I think you should read this letter. It's meant for you, well, part of it is. I just hope you understand what May did." Skye looked into Coulson's eyes. He seemed worried about something, but Skye couldn't figure out what, but she knew it was something serious.

Coulson handed Skye the letter, and she started to read it. As she was reading the letter, he heard her whisper the words quietly and started scanning through the book, trying to find the page that he was on. He suddenly heard Skye stop reading the words out-loud. She must have come across the important part.

After a moment, he found the page with the picture of May and Skye when Skye was a child. Phil looked at Skye. Her eyes looked watery, and if she spoke, she would have cried. "Skye?" Coulson whispered. She turned her head slightly, enough to notice she was silently crying. He pointed to the picture of Melinda holding the little baby, and she started to pour her eyes out. Coulson wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she put her head on his chest, letting the tears fall on to his shirt.

He didn't care. He was lucky enough not to break down like Skye did when he learned the news.

"Why didn't she tell me before?" she sobbed into his shirt.

"I don't know. I don't know why she didn't tell me either." She inched herself back away from Coulson. He removed his arm from her shoulder as she wiped her tears.

"So, you are my...?" she asked.

The leader nodded. "I guess so."

"You didn't know?"

"I am as clueless as you Skye."

"So," she said as she placed the note on top of the scrapbook. "My last name is Coulson-May?"

"It's whatever you want it to be." Skye looked at the scrapbook with the picture of May holding her.

"I just can't believe it. She should have been here to tell me! To tell us!" Skye sobbed.

Coulson nodded. "I know." Skye closed the scrapbook, and looked at Coulson.

"We need to tell the rest of the team or else they are going to hate us."

"Tell them after you go have a drink. And not of alcohol." Skye nodded as she got up from the chair and left the opposite direction of the team.

As soon as she left, the team came back into the room. Coulson wanted to talk to them about eavesdropping on private conversations, but he didn't have it in him to do so. They sat and stood there silently.

"Can we read the..." Simmons said as Coulson handed the letter to her. Fitz looked over Simmons' shoulder as they read the letter together. None of them got teary, luckily, but didn't speak about it. Simmons handed the letter over to Ward, who was watching his boss silently.

Ward accepted the letter, and started to read it.

"We need to finish the scrapbook," Simmons said, stopping everyone's train of thought in the room. "We need to do it for May."

"Even after this?" Skye said as she re-entered the room with a glass of water.

"Even after this. We never give up on a member or leave them behind."

"She doesn't deserve to come back," Skye said, most likely saying it out of anger.

Simmons shook her head. "She may not to you, but she deserve a second chance. Everyone deserves a second chance in life."

Skye nodded. "Fine, you're right. I'm sorry about this everyone, and my foolishness, yada, yada, yada, let's move on." Skye sat beside Coulson, and grabbed the scrapbook from the middle of the table after placing her water on the table. Ward took his seat beside Skye. He placed his left hand on her leg and she gave him a smile. He put his hand back to his side.

"Alright everyone," Skye said. "Where were we in this scrapbook?" Skye flipped through the pages until she reached the one the team has already seen. She flipped to the next page.

Everything may not be good, but at least they had each other to pick up the pieces they dropped.

* * *

**A/N: This and the last chapter were more hurt/comfort and drama, but the next will go back to its original program. I hope you let me know your thoughts. Judge away.**


	7. Growing Up

**Chapter 7**

**Growing Up**

**A/N: Back to drabbles. I hope you enjoyed this.**

* * *

No one knew if anyone was looking at the pictures anymore. So much has happened that has confused the members of S.H.I.E.L.D. Skye learned whom her parents were, Coulson learning he was a parent, and the rest of the team thinking about that.

The next picture was of Melinda May and Sun Lin in front of tents used at carnivals. There was the classic Ferris Wheel in the background, and bumper cars. The technology though was bad compared to today.

There was more of the games you have to pay to play such as throwing a ball into a basket that was slanted, throwing a ball into a large milk jug, and a ring toss game.

The weather was more of a spring now, with trees starting to bud, along with flowers. Apparently, nothing important happened in the winter. "I wish I could be at a carnival now," Simmons said, breaking the silence in the room.

"Ya. Me too," Skye said, almost speaking in a sob. Coulson placed his hand on her leg and gave it a gentle squeeze. She felt what he did, and removed one of her hands from the scrapbook to squeeze his hand back.

The next picture, which looked to be taken by a professional, was of Melinda's class. There looked to be her best friend in her class, along with 20 or so other students and the teacher.

Skye didn't bother reading the names of the students. The other members of the team gave them a quick glance, but nothing else. They immediately moved onto the next picture.

This picture was of Melinda in a field, like she was on a farm. He was a good distance away from whoever took the photograph. The grass was pretty high, enough to only see Melinda's hair. "The perfect hide-and-seek place," Simmons said.

"I wish we could play that here," Fitz said sadly.

"We should have a hide-and-seek tournament. Whoever can hide the longest gets more points. We switcher seekers until every has gone, and they count up the points," Ward explained.

"Sounds fun," Skye said, not speaking more than 5 syllables at a time. Everyone nodded, having a mini agreement on the topic. That was nothing that couldn't wait.

The next picture on the page was of Melinda in front and beside a bunch of chickens. There looked to be food across the grass behind Melinda. "This is a chicken coop at my uncles," Skye read, reading the caption the first time since getting the news on her parents. The team looked at her, acknowledging that she has accepted the news more than before.

"I used to live on a farm," Simmons said.

"You? A farm?" Fitz asked, curious about his friend.

She nodded. "Of course." Skye flipped the page. Melinda looked a lot older in this picture, like they skipped five years of her life. It was either there wasn't enough room in the book, but Coulson checked the back earlier, and some pages were empty, or she actually only wanted important parts mentioned.

Coulson remembered reading the letter that she wrote, and it talking about only talking about important points in her life. Maybe, the previous five years of her life weren't important enough to mention in her scrapbook.

This Melinda was much taller, getting close to the height she is today. She was wearing a knee-length dress that the colour of a heart (one of the standard fake ones of course). She had a lot of make-up on from mascara to eye shadow to blush. "Graduation," Skye said.

"She looks beautiful," Coulson said. The team silently agreed with their boss, not wanting to upset Skye or Coulson. Skye looked at the picture.

"I wish I had this memory," Skye said. The team looked at Skye, feeling a bit sympathetic for the girl. They moved onto the next picture.

She was holding a diploma of her grade 8 graduation beside her mother. Melinda's mother was wearing a black dress pants with a flower t-shirt, which was perfect for the summer weather in the background. The sun was shining brightly, making the background look beautiful along with the green grass.

"So judging from the previous picture, she really never had a father figure," Simmons said.

"It's a bit sad just to think about," Fitz said.

"At least she had a figure," Skye mumbled, no one else hearing what she said.

The next picture was of Melinda and Sun Lin standing beside each other in a field with a large building in the background. "First day of secondary school," Skye read to the group. "So, high school."

The large building was made of brown bricks, looking recently placed without vines or graffiti covering the building.

"I would love to be in high school at times," Simmons said.

"At your little country high school?" Fitz asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Okay!" Skye said, interrupting the pair's conversation. "Moving on from the rural."

The next picture was of an experiment in what looked like a science room. Melinda was standing by the experiment with goggles on. This experiment had something to deal with lighting a wooden splint on fire. The burner that was connected to something was releasing fire.

"Fitz, do you think this has to do with testing for a certain chemical in a mixture?" Simmons asked.

He shrugged. "You're the bio-chemist, but from what I can tell, yes. I'm not sure if they are being safe taking a picture of it though."

"She was just a teenager," Coulson said. "Maybe not the smartest one at this time, but one."

"I hope nothing bad happened to her here," Jemma said. For some teenagers, they liked to live their lives dangerous, and they hoped that Melinda and her friend wasn't one of them.

* * *

**I hope this was fine. Tell me your thoughts.**


	8. Living the Dangerous Life

**Chapter 8**

**Living the Dangerous Life**

**A/N: I'm so sorry how late this was. I went camping and forgot to tell you guys! Anyways, I hope you don't hate me for this late chapter and enjoy.**

* * *

Danger was all Coulson felt when he looked at the next picture. The picture was dark with only a dim streetlights filling the streets. There was a teenager who looked to be Sun Lin, but with the lighting on the street, it was hard to tell, and it could be someone who looked similar. Sun Lin was hanging from a wall that was blocking a tall building with smoke coming out of it. The building was most likely a factory of some sort.

Melinda was smiling at the camera, but Sun Lin looked more out of breath and concerned more than happy to have this picture taken. "I wonder who was holding the camera when this was taken," said Skye, who seemed better than when she learned whom her parents were.

"Probably some guy or girl who liked to do stuff like May and Sun Lin," Simmons answered. "Is that illegal?"

Coulson shrugged. "Like any of us would know."

"How about 'Melinda May, Sun Lin, and Koh Chamning are going over to a factory for a hangout spot'? That for sure sounds legal," Skye said sarcastically. Ward moved closer to Skye to look at the picture in more detail.

"What is that in the background?" he asked. "Like, far in the distance? It's hard to make out if you are looking at it like you normally would, but if you look at it closer, there appears to be something. Any thoughts?" Skye looked down at what Ward pointed out. Everyone else's view was blocked.

"Skye," Fitz said seriously. Skye turned around, moving her head away from the book, and looked at Fitz. "Can you allow other people to see also?"

"Hey," she said, sounding like a mad customer from a store. "He was the one who said you needed to look closely at the picture."

"Don't be pointing fingers at me," Ward said, backing up away from Skye and putting his hands up into the air. "I didn't do anything but ask a simple question."

"Everyone!" Coulson said, interrupting the fighting between the team members. "Let me take a look at it, then pass it around so everyone can look at it." They turned to face Coulson. Fitz looked like he wanted to argue about it, but nodded, complying his boss' orders. Skye handed the book to Coulson. He moved the book closer to his eyesight. Coulson noticed the little black blur. He held the book behind his head. Simmons grabbed the book.

Once everyone had to look at the book, Ward handed it back to Skye. "It looked sort of like a person," Simmons stated.

"Do you think it was a stalker or someone they were meeting?" Skye asked as if she thought it was a mystery/thriller movie.

"Skye," Coulson said. "I really can't answer you, but I am pretty sure everything went okay since she is still here." He paused. The team looked at their leader while they process what he said. They all knew what he meant, but they also knew that the pain to him was like a blow to the stomach.

Skye removed her left hand that was holding the book, and placed her hand on his shoulder. They made eye contact and smiled, not needing to say anymore than that.

Skye held the book again, and looked at the next picture. This new page gave Skye, along with most of the team, the creeps. Here was May and Koh sitting on top of a building with an asphalt roofing. The surrounding area appeared to have shattered windows and graffiti everywhere. The edges of the building protected nothing but the water from running off the roof and onto the ground. "This is starting to scare me a bit," Simmons said with a rise of panic in her voice.

"Haven't you seen any horror movies?" Skye asked.

"Have you noticed that people usually don't do this kind of thing?" Simmons questioned, daring Skye to fall into her pit of wrongness.

"What does horror movies have to do with this anyway?" Fitz asked, interrupting the small competition between the friends.

Skye sighed. "It doesn't matter. I should know that you guys don't know about this stuff. You lived in houses with families that loved you and cared for you." Coulson looked at Skye with concern. "So you shouldn't judge this unless you know the facts. The facts are that Melinda didn't have a father by her side, and maybe that drove her into this path.

"Life is not always happy, and I hope you know this." Ward made the first eye contact with Skye since she spoke. The eyes moved between their eyes and face, trying to read each other.

After a while, the two settled their silent, but effective, communication. The team looked at the next picture. If the team thought the last two were dark and scary, than they probably shouldn't be looking at the next picture. The picture was at a weird angle, making the picture looking like it was bouncing. The shot showed a man covered in tattoos on his arms, pointing a gun at May. The background was dark with the streetlights providing the only light, similar to a previous photo. "Honestly, what happened?" Skye asked, a bit shocked of what she was seeing.

"It doesn't look good, that's for sure," Ward answered keeping his eyes on the picture.

Someone's arms fell onto Skye from behind. She jolted off her seat. Ward and Coulson also got off their seat and looked behind them. Simmons was standing there, and Fitz was on the ground.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay again. I hope you forgive me for that by this chapter. Hope you tell me your thoughts on it.**


	9. Questionable

**Chapter 9**

**Questionable**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has supported this stories in multiple ways, and I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

"Fitz!" Simmons said loudly, even though everyone knew that he was on the ground. She knelt beside him. Fitz placed his hands beside him to move his body up. Simmons grabbed his wrist and stood up, pulling Fitz up too.

"Are you okay?" Coulson asked. Fitz leaned against the back of the couch to support himself.

Fitz nodded. "Fine. It's just I got a bit scared about that picture. Who would take these pictures?"

"Forget about who took the pictures, you passed out!" Simmons explained. "You should sit down for a minute. I'll go grab a glass of water." Simmons scurried out of the room, acting a bit anxious.

"Sit," Coulson ordered, moving away from his couch spot. Fitz nodded, walking slowly over to the couch leaning to support himself until he was able to sit down. Once he sat down, he leaned into the back of the couch.

Simmons came back with a bottle of water in her hands. "Here." He nodded, accepting the bottle out of her hands. He opened the cap, and took a giant gulp from the bottle.

Once Fitz finished drinking, he took a deep breath in and let it out quickly. "Thanks."

Simmons nodded. "You needed it." Ward and Skye, who felt awkward standing there, sat down at their spots.

Skye turned towards Fitz. "We can move on if you want," she whispered, making sure no one else heard what she told Fitz.

He shook his head. "No. Please, let's continue." Skye nodded and reached for the scrapbook she threw on the table when Fitz collapsed to the ground. She opened the book, and somehow, managed to open it on the same page they were on before. Skye turned the book away from Fitz to face Ward, who was sitting quietly and patiently at his spot with his fingers interlocking each other.

Ward turned to Skye. He didn't smile like he would normally do, but he looked at the next picture of the book. This picture, which wasn't as violent-looking as the last picture, was still pretty dark. It was luckily the last picture in the book, which Ward suspected wouldn't be as dark as these two pages. There was Sun Lin, Melinda, and Koh sitting beside each other. Beside them, they had different types of rifles on the ground. Ward wasn't sure if they were loaded or not, but it appeared that they were fired.

Melinda and Koh were smiling about something, but Sun Lin seemed either unsure or confused about something. The background had people walking around meant it could be a gang area or the authority is looking for something. Ward assumed the worst, thinking that they were looking for the trio.

He turned his attention away from the book and back at Skye. He wanted to give some sign that this picture would be better than other ones, but he couldn't manage himself to do so, keeping the same, emotionless face he had on minutes ago.

Skye gave a quick frown. "What is it?" Simmons said, noticing the interactions between the two. Everyone's attention changed to Skye.

She shrugged. "Not sure. Do you want to hold on before continuing to read the scrapbook, or should we wait until. You know, Fitz gets-"

"I'm fine," Fitz told, even out of everyone else's disbelief. "Let's just continue." The team looked at each other until they decided to listen to Fitz and nodded. Coulson walked around the couch to stand behind it so he could look at the book.

Skye scooted on the couch to get more comfortable. She leaned into the couch, and held up the book for everyone to see.

Ward, who has already seen the picture the rest of the team hasn't seen, is looking at the picture for something he didn't notice the first glance at the photo. The main focus was the people in the background and Melinda with her friends in front of the lens, but there probably is more in this picture than what meets the eye. The guns were on the roof beside them on the ground that has a potential to shoot at one or all of them. There was a box that probably stored the guns in, but where did the box come from? People must have carried the box up there, but where did they get it from? The most likely case would be that it was stolen or bought from somewhere illegally. Does that mean Melinda was being illegal multiple times during her teenage years? Why would she show them these pictures?

Ward shook his head. It doesn't matter, he thought, we can ask her if she comes back, and I am sure Coulson will make that happen somehow.

"I don't like this picture better than the last one," Simmons who was standing beside Coulson now said.

Skye nodded. "Agreed." After a brief silence, Skye said, "Friends on roof watching' it says."

"Watching what?" Fitz asked. Even though Fitz passed out for a seconds, he wanted them to move on from that incident by talking other than feeling fine after he fell.

"Not sure," Skye told. "Ward, do you have an idea?" Grant snapped out his deep state of mind, and looked at the team, who had their attention focused on him.

He shrugged. "Watching the people in the back to make sure they didn't come." Skye looked closer into the photo, seeing the little dark grey figures in the back beside a graffiti-covered building.

Skye pointed at the people. "There." Everyone stared at what she was pointing at. Coulson, not use to be behind the couch, leaned into the couch to get a better view of the picture. He peeked his head between Skye and Fitz and looked at what she was pointing at.

"Didn't see them there," Coulson said.

"I'm sure no one but Ward saw them there," Skye said. Ward shrugged off her comment, and continued to think deep. "Anyways, I think we should turn the page. Let's hope there is something better than this... life there." She placed her finger at the corner of the page and flipped it.

* * *

**Only one picture, but we'll have more soon. Hope you tell me your thoughts.**


	10. Hi Ya

**Chapter 10**

**Hi Ya**

**A/N: Thank you for everyone who has supported me. I really appreciate it. Now, enjoy!  
**

* * *

Since the last page, the team didn't know what to expect in this scrapbook. Coulson, the one who read the letter, knew that all the pictures in the book were from her mother, which has made him more suspicious than the others. I'll ask her when I bring her back, Coulson thought.

The next picture showed Melinda, along with a few anonymous people in the background, kicking a punching bag. Melinda, along with everyone else, was wearing black, workout pants. Melinda though, was wearing a white t-shirt and had a brown belt wrapped around her waist. Her face looked mean and strong, which looked like it added more power into her kick. If the bag was a person, they would be in pain for hours. "This is Melinda at her martial arts school," Skye read the caption out loud to the rest of the team.

"Of course," Coulson whispered to himself. Luckily, Simmons, who was standing beside him, didn't hear his words. He didn't want to explain to them why it made sense for her to be at a martial arts school.

"At least this is nicer than the last picture," Fitz said, still feeling the pain from the fall.

Simmons nodded. "Agreed. Right Coulson?"

"Ya, sure," he said, not knowing what he just answered. Simmons recognized his hesitation and confusion, but didn't ask why, knowing that he could be thinking about something that is probably more important than what she asked. It was amazing that he still answered though, even if it was a half-conscious answer.

"We all probably should use a lesson from May on hand-to-hand combat," Skye said. Everyone but Ward seemed to agree on that. They continued to move on to the next picture.

This picture dealt with Melinda on a mat with her hands up in a defensive position. There was another person who looked a bit like Koh standing in front of her in the same position. Melinda was wearing the same outfit in the other picture, but this time had an uwa-gi on, making her in full uniform.

The pair's expressions were filled with a readiness and preparedness that made the team feel like they were standing there watching the match about to start. "This seems a bit intense," Skye said.

"At least it's in a controlled setting," said Fitz. "Unlike the last pictures, which were a bit out of control." Ward nodded to himself, but didn't say anything.

"Are you OK Ward?" asked Simmons, who has noticed the change in Ward's personality since Fitz's sudden fall.

Ward turned his head to face Simmons. "I'm fine," he said. "Why'd you ask?"

"You haven't been speaking since Fitz fell and on the last picture, you were silent, only answering Skye's question like you knew something we all didn't know," she explained as she rested her elbows against the back of the couch.

He shrugged. "It's nothing. Can we continue?" Everyone silently agreed and looked at the next picture. This picture had Melinda holding a medal that was wrapped around her neck and the other hand was holding a medium size trophy. She was still wearing her martial arts uniform and was smiling. There were other people in the background on mats similar to the last photo like it was taken on the same day.

"Melinda and her mother at Melinda's martial arts' tournament," Skye read the caption. "Third place in total sparring and first place in female sparring'. Wow, I wish I could do that."

"We should get Melinda to show us some of her moves," said Fitz. Everyone laughed. The mood of the room has changed back to a happier and lighter mood than the last two pages. Coulson even smiled a bit at his comment.

"I wish she placed an action shot of her in here," Skye said, acting a bit sad about what her mother, whom she just learned today about, did to her.

"So we could see one of her moves? Great idea Skye!" Fitz said, not noticing Skye's change of mood.

She nodded. "Thanks." Skye tried not to show any reaction about it, but she was sure Coulson and Ward noticed the difference in her words. Skye shrugged before looking at the last picture.

In this picture, she was standing by the same man she sparred in some pictures back. When they looked closer at the person she was standing beside, it was Koh. The team thought the picture that Melinda was sparring in was with Koh, but now it confirmed she did.

Koh was holding a second place medal that was on his neck and a trophy a bit bigger than Melinda's that read 'Second Place' on it. He was wearing the same think Melinda was wearing only in a different size and had a brown belt with a black stripe running through the middle of it. "Koh and Melinda celebrating their victory together," said Skye, not stopping on reading the captions.

"I guess Sun Lin was never into martial arts or sparring?" Simmons asked. "She's not even there to watch her friend and cheer her on."

Skye shrugged. "Maybe she had something more important to do or something bad happened between the two of them. Only May knows the whole story."

Somethings stories were stories to people, but to the people who connected to May the most, Coulson and Skye, it meant a lot to them. Their feelings towards May went from 'Please come back' to 'We can't live without you."

* * *

**I hope this was a good chapter. I know the last two chapters were on the dark side, but now, I think we are good until her adult life, which will have darker chapters (sorry). But hope you review. If you want something in, just ask!**


	11. Graduation

**Chapter 11**

**Graduation**

**A/N: Thank you everyone who has supported this. I am going to assume we are half-way through this story, so, yep. Enjoy!**

* * *

Everyone has felt relieved that they left the darker side of the book. The team still suspected that there would be more moments like that, but now that their quiet ninja was done winning sparring matches, she was at a party. Everyone in the background was dressed fancy-looking.

In this picture, May and standing beside Sun Lin with their arms wrapped around their shoulders in a friendly way. Melinda was wearing a short, baby doll red dress that barely passed her knees. She was wearing a bracket on her right arm. It was a silver colour that was shining because of the flash from the camera.

Her shoes were black high heels, that looked about 3 inches. There was a certain complexity to the shoes.

Beside her, Sun Lin was wearing a short orange dress that looked like Melinda's. Sun Lin was wearing a necklace that was a golden colour around her neck. It looked like it was a locket of some sort.

Her shoes were silver flats. They had a little bow on the front of each shoe. "This is Melinda and Sun Lin at graduation," said Skye. "Grad. We were just looking at her starting high school moments ago."

"I don't think it was 'moments' ago," explained Coulson.

"Fine, maybe half an hour, if that," she corrected.

"What did she do after high school? Was she at the academy?" asked Simmons.

Coulson nodded. "Yep." After the team realized what Coulson said, they moved to the next picture. The team was excited to see the next pictures of her at the academy, but could wait these last three pictures before seeing the pictures.

The next picture was very similar, but was with Koh. He was wearing a nice black tailored suit with a white-collar shirt underneath. He had a skinny blue tie that had a plaid design that included white, navy blue, light blue, and yellow.

He had a shiny watch on his left arm that was wrapped around Melinda's waist. His hair was combed back and gelled to keep his hair in place. His shoes were nice, black dress shoes. "This is quite sweet," said Simmons. "They both seemed happy." They both showed big smiles with their teeth.

"We should get Coulson to convince her to dress up and do it again," Skye said, thinking how she could get a picture of both her parents for the future.

"Not again," he muttered to himself, but became unlucky when everyone glared at him.

"Again?" Simmons asked, thinking what he could be talking about.

Coulson, the leader of the team who never let people's words affect him, blushed slightly. "Yes," he said. "Again. It doesn't matter though."

"I am getting really excited to see these next pictures," Skye said, who held the book up higher for a moment so she could stretch her legs.

"Let's continue," Ward said, who didn't seem thrilled about what Skye said. Everyone shrugged as they looked at the next picture. Koh, Sun Lin, and Melinda were all in the picture, but what was different from the last picture was that they weren't serious, but were posing and laughing.

There was Koh, who was the most serious out of all of them. He was standing in the front holding his right hand up, with his finger in the shape of a gun. His left hand was in the pit of his arm.

Behind his, there was Melinda resting her head on his right shoulder. Her eyes looked like they were watching her ears, but they weren't sure if that was an intention or not. Her right arm was wrapped around his waist and the other one was holding at the pit of his left arm. Her knees were slightly bent, but her right knee was the only one that was hovering beside his right knee. The other leg wasn't noticeable.

Sun Lin wasn't that noticeable in the picture, but you could tell that she was behind Koh slightly. She had her left hand holding a cocktail glass with some liquid in it, though not much. Her right hand was holding something that looked like an egg, but the team wondered where they got the egg from, but wouldn't know until Melinda came back. "I get it," said Fitz, who was laughing quietly to himself.

Coulson took another look at it before going into his conscious to remember what Melinda liked when she was at the academy. He kept thinking about her interests, then he came with something. "What year was this again?" he asked.

"Some time after 1983," Simmons explained, getting the movie reference.

Skye said, "Was that-"

"Don't ruin it for Coulson!" Simmons said. "Let him think about it and move on to the next picture."

In the last picture of the page, there was Melinda standing beside a women who looked to be Melinda's mother. Melinda was holding a diploma one of her hands while the other free hand was wrapped around her mother's waist. They were both smiling together. "This is Melinda who has graduated from high school," Skye read. The team smiled.

"This is sweet," Simmons said. "I wish we knew this side of her before."

"I think we can all agree to that," answered Skye. The team nodded before Skye flipped to the next page.

* * *

**Hope you've enjoyed and tell me what you think. If you want anything specifically, just ask. Also, whoever guesses that movie reference with what Koh, Melinda, and Sun Lin will be mention as the winner in the next chapter. I will tell what movie it is if no one has guessed it.**


End file.
